Adele draws fire for ‘loves being a woman’ comment at genderless BRITs

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Global superstar Adele won the top three prizes at the BRIT Awards on Tuesday, in the first genderless edition of Britain’s annual pop music honours.

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But the pop star drew fire from some critics online after she declared she “loves being a woman.”

Dubbed “Queen of the BRITs” by host Mo Gilligan, the London-born singer picked up the first award of the night — Song of the Year — for her chart-topping single Easy on Me.

The track was the first to be released from her comeback album 30, a record Adele has said she made to explain her divorce to her young son. It won album of the year.

“I’d like to dedicate this award to my son, and to Simon, to his dad. This album was all of our journey, not just mine,” a tearful Adele said, referring to her ex-husband Simon Konecki.

“I understand why the name of this award has changed, but I really love being a woman and being a female artist. I do!” she said. “I’m really proud of us. I really, really am.”

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The comment quickly led to Adele being branded a TERF — or trans-exclusionary radical feminist — online.

“Who’d have thought Adele was a transphobe and would use her platform to call for the destruction of the trans community. Especially the confused teenagers,” one critic raged on Twitter.

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“Please, no, Adele,” another begged. “That last comment, though ambiguous, could be perceived as TERF-y.”

“I love Adele, but that ‘woman’ comment seemed like a bit of a dig. Non-binary artists deserve better,” chimed a third person.

But the singer’s fans were quick to leap to her defence, with one tweeting, “The best thing about the Adele situation is that it shows that all any woman has to do to be called a “terf” is acknowledge her own sex. It exposes how low the bar is & how high the cost is for a woman who speaks the truth without first considering if deranged men are OK with it.”

Commentator Piers Morgan also weighed in, slamming the “woke” BRITs and mocking Adele’s critics.

“How dare @Adele have the brass-neck audacity to ignore gender-neutral bulls— and take pride in being female? She’s clearly an evil TERF who must be cancelled immediately.”

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Despite being released in November, Adele’s 30 was 2021’s biggest selling album. The singer was set to perform in Las Vegas for an extended residency, but postponed the shows because of COVID-19 cases in her crew.

An insider told the New York Daily News that she cancelled the concerts because of a rift with her boyfriend, sports agent Rich Paul.

“There’s trouble in paradise. That’s why she can’t perform.”

But Adele shut down rumours the couple is headed for splitsville in an Instagram message to fans in which she said, “Rich sends his love.”

— With files from Reuters

mdaniell@postmedia.com

Article content

Global superstar Adele won the top three prizes at the BRIT Awards on Tuesday, in the first genderless edition of Britain’s annual pop music honours.

Article content

But the pop star drew fire from some critics online after she declared she “loves being a woman.”

Dubbed “Queen of the BRITs” by host Mo Gilligan, the London-born singer picked up the first award of the night — Song of the Year — for her chart-topping single Easy on Me.

The track was the first to be released from her comeback album 30, a record Adele has said she made to explain her divorce to her young son. It won album of the year.

“I’d like to dedicate this award to my son, and to Simon, to his dad. This album was all of our journey, not just mine,” a tearful Adele said, referring to her ex-husband Simon Konecki.

“I understand why the name of this award has changed, but I really love being a woman and being a female artist. I do!” she said. “I’m really proud of us. I really, really am.”

Article content

The comment quickly led to Adele being branded a TERF — or trans-exclusionary radical feminist — online.

“Who’d have thought Adele was a transphobe and would use her platform to call for the destruction of the trans community. Especially the confused teenagers,” one critic raged on Twitter.

Article content

“Please, no, Adele,” another begged. “That last comment, though ambiguous, could be perceived as TERF-y.”

“I love Adele, but that ‘woman’ comment seemed like a bit of a dig. Non-binary artists deserve better,” chimed a third person.

But the singer’s fans were quick to leap to her defence, with one tweeting, “The best thing about the Adele situation is that it shows that all any woman has to do to be called a “terf” is acknowledge her own sex. It exposes how low the bar is & how high the cost is for a woman who speaks the truth without first considering if deranged men are OK with it.”

Commentator Piers Morgan also weighed in, slamming the “woke” BRITs and mocking Adele’s critics.

“How dare @Adele have the brass-neck audacity to ignore gender-neutral bulls— and take pride in being female? She’s clearly an evil TERF who must be cancelled immediately.”

Article content

Despite being released in November, Adele’s 30 was 2021’s biggest selling album. The singer was set to perform in Las Vegas for an extended residency, but postponed the shows because of COVID-19 cases in her crew.

An insider told the New York Daily News that she cancelled the concerts because of a rift with her boyfriend, sports agent Rich Paul.

“There’s trouble in paradise. That’s why she can’t perform.”

But Adele shut down rumours the couple is headed for splitsville in an Instagram message to fans in which she said, “Rich sends his love.”

— With files from Reuters

mdaniell@postmedia.com